Sunrider saves Shephard
"The paths are open."
The bland, broken VI stood aside, leaving Sukhi to make her choice, but despite her injuries the commander felt a tranquil fury. To passively accept the strange horrors to being forced on the galaxy would be to spit in the face of all she and her allies had fought for. There had to be a better way. There always was.
Lurching from her reverie, Shephard staggered a few steps forwards, mustering her will to achieve what must be done. The little blue thing bobbed along in her wake, silent, until she stopped at the midpoint of her 'choice' and mustered her breath.
"I'm taking a third option." she announced.
"Synthesis is inevitable." the VI reminded her.
"Not your third 'option'" she retorted, "I'm ripping reality a new one!"
"Wait… what?"
This was something beyond the bounds of it's admittedly limited programming. As the Virtual Intelligence struggled to parse Sukhi's declaration within the confines of it's chosen choices, the Commander's body flared bright with biotic power. With a grunt of effort she pulsed her power into the mechanism before her, and quickly made good on her promise.
The VI still failed to comprehend as the Crucible flared bright, tearing reality asunder.
"Report!" Captain Kayto Shields struggled to make himself heard over the racket of the alarms as the Sunrider settled around him.
"We seem to have fallen through a Plot Hole," Ava Cresentia, first officer, managed to maintain her calm demeanour despite the sudden violence of their arrival, "All systems are green, but the drop zone's hot - we're in the middle of a battle."
Before Shields could press for more detail, a mangled body appeared on his bridge in a bright flash. It collapsed with a groan, seemingly still alive.
"Medic!" he shouted as he rushed to catch the fallen warrior.
"I think she's lost, Captain." Ava chided him.
"Not lost yet," the battered body whispered, "Must save galaxy...Reapers...kill all,"
"Medics to the bridge!" Ava snapped into the comn. "Prepare sickbay for nanobot treatment."
A hurried chorus of affirmatives echoed in reply as Kayto tried to assess the damage. It was amazing that the body in his arms still had breath, much less speech, but the Sunrider shook around him, a reminder that this was far from over.
"Analysis, Ava." he snapped, distracted.
"Several small craft are closing on our position," she replied, "Ryder sized, unknown configuration."
"Occuli," the battered one whispered.
"A few of the larger vessels appear to be taking an interest in us as well."
"Reapers,"
"Put the situation up on the monitor," Shields ordered, "And prep all Ryders for immediate launch."
The viewscreen flickered before presenting a image of the approaching Occuli – small pods that spat red bolts from the glowing eye that served as their dominant feature. In the background, squid-like monstrosities that he could only assume where starships were being assailed by more traditional craft. The image was soon blotted out by the swarm of Occuli surrounding the Sunrider, forcing Shields to focus on the more immediate problem.
"Get our flak turrets working – fast!" he ordered, "Ryders are to form a tight perimeter around the Sunrider – no heroics until we know what we're up against."
"Ready to Roll!" was the response.
Ava sighed at the disappointing attitude, although the formation Asaga pulled together fit Shields' command perfectly.
"Raise shields and steady engines," he added, "The Sunrider is joining the fight!"
As they watched, a small swarm of Occuli casually dropped through their flak and opened fire. The Sunrider shook as those bolts found their mark, but Ava spared the damage displays a dismissive glance before summarising the attack:
"Our hull is holding,"
Shields spilt his attention between the tactical displays and his pilot's comn. chatter. The displays showed that the Occuli where easy targets, however...
"Aww, stop moving around so much."
"That was your warning shot."
"You didn't see that, alright? Alright?"
"What is happening out there?" Shields demanded, "Have our targeting computers crashed or something?"
"Captain," Chigara interrupted, "I have a theory..."
"Let's hear it,"
"I hope this hits..."
Shields watched the bright blue bolts of the Liberty's laser rifle diverge as they sped through space. The four beams smashed squarely into the front of the lead Occuli, which fell away in a plume of flame. For a moment, stunned silence echoed over the comn.
"I'm glad that's over." Chigara ended it.
"What just happened?" Shields managed to ask.
"The enemy seems to have some sort of repulsor that deflects kinetics," Chigara explained, "Laser fire cuts strait through it."
"Ava!" It did not take long for the implications to sink in.
"Take Them Out." she repeated to the pulse cannon batteries.
"Imma fireing my lazors,"
"What about the rest of us?" Icari demanded as she slipped away from another volley.
"I must concur with our mercenary on this," Kryska intercepted a shot with the Paladin's shield as she slid into a defensive position, "Without kinetics, we're dead weight out here!"
"Dang it, Captain!" even Claude was getting irate, "I'm a doctor, not a..."
"Energy levels in the Occuli repulsors are fluctuating," Chigara sounded distracted as she patched up the Paladin's scratched hull, "Repeated, powerful, or unusual hits should erode or penetrate the effect."
"Firing cannon!" Kryska barked as the Liberty slipped aside, the Paladin's main guns locking into place as another Occuli dropped on the little blue ryder.
The cannon fired in sequence, shaking Kryska's green ryder, but the shells found their mark. Shields watched the first glance off a red flare, but the second round punched through and the third struck the exploding Occuli without resistance. Nearby, the Bianca fired a blast that bathed another Occuli in red before Sola scrapped it with an understated bolt. Icari, however, had other ideas. Eschewing gunfire entirely, she pounced on the nearest target.
"One cut, One kill!"
"That has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever seen," Ava muttered to herself, an aside that was meant for no one, as the Phoenix plunged it's blade towards it's target.
"And that's how it's done!"
"Stupid or not, it worked." Shields murmured to himself as the Occuli exploded, "Icari! Claude! Kryska! You're the forward team, get in close and personal – you're as good as useless at range."
"Captain, you'd better keep your eyes on me..."
"Asaga keep to your lasers – you and Sola stick close to the Sunrider. Chigara, support whoever needs it most."
"Please don't move me too far away, Captain."
"Backing up!"Asaga cheerfully gunned down another target as she obeyed, "Beep, Beep, Beep!"
The assault team swept space clear around the Sunrider, supported by the flashing pulses of the remaining ryders and the Sunrider herself. Shields found himself able to return his gaze to the main monitor. The waning cloud of Occuli parted once more, revealing the horrible majesty of the orbital battle. One of the larger Reapers dominated the scene, surrounded by a dozen of it's smaller kin and assailed by what looked like a fleet of more conventional craft. As Shields watched, the largest Reaper had a limb shot off – in retaliation it pointed a lazy finger at the nearest vessel and blew it apart with a crimson beam.
"Sweet Mother of God." Ava whispered, "What disgusting firepower."
"Reaper, Sovereign class," A new voice informed them, "Forged from the still-living, molten bodies of an entire galactic civilization. The smaller ones are believed to be forged less consistently, from the dregs."
Still clad in the battered remnants of her armour, Sukhi Shepard stepped into view. She ignored the medics swarming around her, her augmented body already back on the road to health, and focused on the captain. He seemed clearly human, though he was not wearing any uniform she recognised. Probably a mercenary, unless her latest ploy had proven more successful than even she dared hope.
"Care to explain why you teleported onto our ship?" the strict officer next to the captain demanded.
"You probably know more than I," Sukhi replied, "I broke the Crucible, and then all hell broke loose. I woke up in here."
The strict officer frowned, obviously displeased with that response, but her captain was still focussed on the tactical monitors. Sukhi could see a handful of Reaper destroyers bearing down on them – only a handful, but enough to overwhelm most lone vessels – and this particular ship did not appear very close to her allies formation.
"Ryders, fall into a defensive formation at the forward position," the captain ordered, "Prepare for a rush – the Sunrider is moving forwards."
Sukhi was shocked at the man's apparently cavalier attitude – had she misunderstood the strange terminology?
"Spool up the warp drive for a short range jump, Ava," he continued, "We are going to need to time this perfectly."
"Aye, Captain,"
Sukhi watched, uncomprehending, as preparations for their next action were completed with commendable alacrity. With a glance at the display screen the Captain, 'Shields', nodded confirmation. Ava relayed the command and the screen flashed white for a moment.
"Jump Successful." Ava commented as the screen cleared.
Sukhi stared in horror at the sight before her. A Reaper destroyer loomed large, almost point-blank before them. Two more could be seen behind it, several Occuli as well. Was this…
"This is my command," Shields announced, "Prepare to fire the Vanguard cannon. Vanguards: Fire!"
The ship shook under Sukhi's feet, and once again the screen went white.